Building comparison
head to head
Bravely DefaultvsDragon Quest
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is optimization, and it is a single point.
Bravely Default
Optimization · Pure Optimization
A classic-styled JRPG whose brave/default system turns turns themselves into a resource.
Dragon Quest
Optimization · Pure Optimization
The 1986 original that founded the Japanese RPG template.
Bravely Default leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Dragon Quest leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Bravely DefaultDragon Quest
Axis by axis
Execution0 vs 0
Same score on execution - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Bravely Default
Turn-based menus; no physical demands
Dragon Quest
Menu commands only
Reads0 vs 0
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Bravely Default
Bosses follow fixed scripts
Dragon Quest
No adaptive opposition
Variance2 vs 2
Same score on variance - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Bravely Default
Minor drop and encounter randomness
Dragon Quest
Battle RNG and unknown world first time
Optimization8 vs 7
Bravely Default leans a little harder on optimization, though the gap is small.
Bravely Default
Job combos and brave/default economy are deeply solvable
Dragon Quest
Grind thresholds and routes are fully solvable
A matching score does not mean a matching test. Two games can both sit at 10 on execution and demand completely different things of you - which is why the reasoning above matters more than the number beside it.